Gov't, Muslim rebels agree to expedite talks

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - After postponing the 37th round of formal exploratory talks today, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Muslim rebel group in the country, agreed to meet again for the formal peace negotiation in the second week of April.

Instead of holding the formal talks, both parties held a " special meeting" in Malaysia on Monday, they said in a joint statement signed by government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel- Ferrer and her MILF counterpart Mohagher Iqbal.

"The special meeting...ended with a firm commitment of the two parties to continue the talks in an expeditious manner," they said.

During the special meeting, the government and the MILF discussed the composition of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) and the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP), the convening of the Transition Commission in the first week of April 2013, and the Terms of Reference of the Task Force Sajahatra Bangsamoro.

Should the formal talks push through, they could have discussed the remaining three annexes - the power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and normalization - of the framework agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Both parties inked last month the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities. The four annexes will form part of the comprehensive peace agreement that will pave the road for the creation of a Bangsamoro entity to replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and will end the four decades armed struggle in southern Philippines.